Leon FR TDI or Astra VXR

[CupraSport]

Agreed it does howl and sounds great, a mate has the earlier Monaro with aftermarket exhausts not that sounds even better.

My personal opinion was that it was to big, when braking down from speed quickly it was not that quick to shed it's speed and the weight made it's presence felt. This was with the standard brake setup though not the uprated one. Not as nimble or chuckable.

Like you say though it's shite on fuel (but what V8 isn't???)

 

[S8N]

I will agree on the handling, it feels big and very heavy but damn it's fun. I was totally addicted to the howl and the whole muscle car feel. It certainly takes some stopping and uprated brakes with the Wilkinshaw exhaust is a must to really get the whole feeling. I did throughly love it though!

Hahahah @ fuel economy. My goodness it was terrible but I think I would live with it if I didn't do masses of miles!

 

[CupraSport]

The upgraded exhausts from Wilkinshaw are great as are the remap, supercharger conversion, coilies etc.... Loads and Loads of mods for that car from the states and Oz...... deep pockets required though. Vauxhall do the upgraded brakes etc all as part of the package (aftermarket tuning in house) We are following the Us on this trend I feel which can only be a good thing. Think factory remaps at Seat and still 100% of your warranty mmmmm

 

[mrlynch]

Ok just to help balance things up, what do people dislike about their Cupras?

 

[CupraSport]

I'm not sure you'll get honest answers for this one.
I personally feel the interior is a little bland, not as modern as say the civic. Apart from that (touches wood) I cannot think of another reason why I would have bought something else.

I feel that if you get one you must have the bluetooth etc as the extra features are a must

 

[mrlynch]

Yep I have to agree with that. The first time i sat in a Leon a couple of years back the interior was great, although having sat in one recently it seems to have dated quite briskly. Then again the Astra has the same interior in every flaming model

 

[Plasmaman]

Speakers!! there are crap!!!

 

[CupraSport]

Speakers!! there are crap!!!

Forgot about that one... Not been in it a few days fully agree though how they match up to other marques I'm not sure for all we know they could all be shite. (Reminds ee I want to get some new ones oem fitment before I go away)

 

[Al]

Cupra is a better car to compare against a VXR than an FR TDi.

Standard vs Standard there is not much between them. Cupra has better engine and it is much smoother than the engine in the VXR, but performance figures suggest they are similar. Brakes in Cupra are superior to those in the VXR as well.

Handling wise is similar too although the driving experience in the Cupra is better due to virtually no torque steer.

Looks wise is down to the individual, but the VXR is very common where the Cupra is very rare. Cupra is 5 door vs VXR 3 door.

If you plan to tune the cars, the Cupra wins hands down. A £500 remap gives more power and torque 310bhp/310ft-lbs approx than stage 3 does on a VXR 295bhp - 305ft-lbs (which costs approx £3000).

 

[jonjay]

I'm looking for 3 door ideally, the sport hatch on the Astra is a lot nicer than the 5 door astra.

As for torque steer, this will be very interesting to hear about - my old Clio 182 had it quite bad but you kind of get used to wrestling with the steering wheel

In terms of reliability my Ibiza has been in the garage 3 times in a year which i wouldn't exactly call good :S

I drove recently a 300bhp cupra and the torque steer was less that my car. It drove really sweet.

 

[Poverty]

Cupra rempas to higher figures and has better brakes as standard. Therefore cupra wins along with it being alot less common.

 

[vRS_Dave]

I owned an Astra VXR up until three weeks ago, when I 'unfortunately' swapped it for an Ibiza FR20VT

I can't really compare it to the Leon Cupra having never driven one, but I can say it was an absolutely awesome car to own and I regret letting go of it. It was totally standard, didnt need any modding- VX got it spot on and only torque steered over the roughest of tarmac.

The VXR is more common, due to the fact it's been out longer than the Cupra! And that the typical hot hatch buyer usually prefer 3 doors, not the family-like 5 doors the Leon has.

Just an opinion off someone who has actually owned the car.

 

[Bainie]

I had an astra Vxr for a year but had to sell it because I needed the back doors ... Ask on a seat forum which is best and it is only going to go one way *lol* I have driven a cupra, and lived with both an FR and a VXR for a year ... To say the Vxr interior is bland compared to a leon is a joke, the vxr was much better put together, no squeaks or rattles in their .. Torque steer is thrown at it all the time, but if you use the throttle as an on off switch you will get it in any powerful fwd car ... For me, though my cupra time was limited, the Vxr is a much better car. Now jnr is a year old I have toyed with the idea of getting back into an astra Vxr, as it for me was the perfect package, nice 1/2 leather recaro`s , 19" wheels and plenty of poke ...

Go onto Astra Sport and ask the same question and I would imagine the vote would sway the other way ..

 

[mrlynch]

Cheers vRS_Dave and Bainie, its interesting to get opinions from people who have actually owned one. The difference in opinion is massive to some of the earlier posts, looks like its gonna be a tricky decision although one of the biggest things for me is the 3 door (no need for 5 with just me and the missus) but guess it will come down to the test drives.

 

[CupraSport]

Looks like you have a lot of thinking to do.

I agree with the interior bit the Astra VXR's interior dash etc is very smart, lot nicer to look at that the Leon. Also agree with the torque steer steer comment, if you use it like an on / off switch as I said earlier it will be horrendous in either car and some of that might be fixable with different rubber etc. Getting 240Bhp onto the road through wheels that steer is not an easy task whilst keeping them straight and true. Look at the problems Ford had with the original Focus RS (though after speaking to some owners they where not that bad) or Alfa did with the 146 GTA (though having a heavy V6 slung out the front did them no favors)

Drive both and make the call. I did not need the 5 door practicality but it helps sometimes, as when I am carrying the pooch in the boot makes geting my stuff in the car easier (back seats) and when you are driving you cannot see the rear door handles makes you think you are driving a 3 door or a coupe (odd I know).

Apologies if this offends but to say that the Leon is easier to mod is not a valid reason to buy it over any other car. Some people like to keep performance stock some like to tweak, some like body mods others don't.

You need to be 100% happy with the base car or what is the point.

It will be hard to find an unbiased opinion on a brand specific site, would be an idea to post on Astra Sport as vRS_Dave said to see if some of them are as candid as a few are on here.

I am doing my best to be as unbiased as possible.

 

[Bainie]

I would say that my review would be about as unbiased as you can get, as I have lived with both and now drive a leon, so you would think I would be biased towards it. it is all down to personal circumstances and preferance at the end of the day . try to get a decent test drive in them, not just a ten minute blast . I had a Dalmation when I had the vxr, and she loved the boot *lol* (Another thing I lost when jnr came along ! ) ..

As for the modding I agree as well, not a reason to buy a car, the cupra has bigger brakes as standard, the vxr comes with 1/2 leather , easier to upgrade brakes than interior, the Vxr comes with a 19" wheel option and full leather as well , we could throw specs around all day, but it doesn`t make one better than the other ...

My only real gripe with the leon is the rattles/ creaks 7 squeaks, they drive me insane !!!!!

 

[Rob GTI]

Purely from an aesthetic point of view I think the Astra VXR is nicer to look at than the Leon FR and Cupra inside and out, thats coming from a Leon owner who doesn't like Vauxhalls.

 

[InfernalBadger]

I disagree on the exterior (never seen inside an Astra VXR). I think the Cupra is a much nicer looking car. But then again I did nearly buy one, and never even considered the VXR as an alternative

Ended up with an RX8 because I really just don't like money!

 

[Ben CTR]

Ended up with an RX8 because I really just don't like money!

LMAO mate.. I know where you're coming from as my mate has one and is currently getting about 15mpg from it.. That and it's ridiculous Co2 emmision figure makes it about as expensive to run as a small cross channel ferry...

 

[dancupra]

15mpg does he cain it everywhere? or are they just very crap on running good mpg?